The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing received a recognition award Tuesday at the South Plains College Center for Clinical Excellence open house event.
The Center for Clinical Excellence is a state-of-the-art nursing simulation facility made possible through a $1.63 million grant through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiative.
The Perry School of Nursing, along with SPC, is one of 22 partners that form a partnership to train, graduate and place health care professionals in a 15-county area of West Texas.
“It is an honor to be able to come together in the South Plains,” said Kelvin Sharp, SPC president. “This nursing simulation will be able to give nursing students the tools they need to become successful.”
The center houses four simulation suites with equipment donated by University Medical Center, Covenant Health System and the Lubbock Heart Hospital.
The suites are home to one newborn and three adult patient simulators, which mimic human responses to illness and the treatment received. The facility also provides the nurses’ station, medication room and a central supply room. Through two debriefing rooms, observers can monitor what is occurring in the suites in real time.
“The Center for Clinical Excellence will boost rural health care,” said Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas. “I am confident for what the future holds by offering our Texas nursing students this opportunity.”
The SPC Center for Clinical Excellence is designed to improve student retention and skill mastery in Vocational Nursing and Associate Degree nursing programs.
“Our nation is focusing on health care,” said Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock. “We took the true West Texan route by joining together to provide the first clinical simulation that will provide quality health care and help combat the shortage of qualified nurses.”